Considerations on COM(2023)425 - EU position in the annual Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Pollock Resources in the Central Bering Sea

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dossier COM(2023)425 - EU position in the annual Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Pollock ...
document COM(2023)425 EN
date December 11, 2023
 
(1)The Republic of Poland is a Contracting Party to the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Pollock Resources in the Central Bering Sea (‘Bering Sea Convention’). The Union is not a Party to that Convention. In accordance with Article 6(9) of the Accession act 14 , fisheries agreements concluded by Member States with third countries are managed by the Union and the Union should implement any decisions established under the Bering Sea Convention.

(2)Council Decision 7277/16 of 11 April 2016 authorised the Republic of Poland to negotiate, in the interest of the Union, an amendment to the Bering Sea Convention with a view for the Union to becoming a Party to that Convention. In October 2016, Poland proposed such an amendment to the Bering Sea Convention to the Depositary of that Convention.

(3)Council Decision (EU) 2023/575 of 9 March 2023 authorised Poland to ratify, in the interest of the European Union, the amendment to the Bering Sea Convention that would allow the participation of the Union as party to that Convention 15 . It is understood that upon the acceptance of the Union as a full Party to the Bering Sea Convention, the Republic of Poland will withdraw its membership from the Convention.

(4)The annual Conference of the Parties to the Bering Sea Convention (‘the annual Conference of the Parties’) is responsible for the management and conservation of the Pollock Resources in the Bering Sea Convention Area. Such measures may become binding upon the Union.

(5)Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council 16  provides that the Union is to ensure that fishing and aquaculture activities are environmentally sustainable in the long-term and are managed in a way that is consistent with the objectives of achieving economic, social and employment benefits, and of contributing to the availability of food supplies. It also provides that the Union is to apply the precautionary approach to fisheries management, and is to aim to ensure that exploitation of living marine biological resources restores and maintains the population of harvested species above levels which can produce the maximum sustainable yield. It further provides that the Union is to take management and conservation measures based on best available scientific advice, to support the development of scientific knowledge and advice, to gradually eliminate discards and to promote fishing methods that contribute to more selective fishing and the avoidance and reduction, as far as possible, of unwanted catches, to fishing with low impact on marine ecosystem and fishery resources. Besides, Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 specifically provides that those objectives and principles are to be applied by the Union in the conduct of its external fisheries relations.

(6)In line with the Biodiversity 17 , Climate Adaptation 18 and Farm to Fork Strategies 19 , it is essential to protect nature and reverse the degradation of ecosystems. The risks stemming from climate change and loss of biodiversity must not jeopardise the availability of the goods and services that healthy marine ecosystems provide to fishers, coastal communities and humanity at large.

(7)The Plastics Strategy 20 refers to specific measures to reduce plastics and marine pollution as well as the loss or abandonment at sea of fishing gear. Furthermore, the Zero pollution Action Plan 21 aims at reducing by 50% plastic litter at sea and by 30% micro-plastics released into the environment.

(8)Under the International Ocean Governance Joint Communication 22 , marine biodiversity protection and conservation are key priorities under the EU’s external action The EU is the most prominent actor in Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) and fisheries bodies worldwide. There, the EU promotes the sustainability of fish stocks, promotes transparent decision-making based on sound scientific advice, enhances scientific research, and strengthens compliance. 

(9)It is appropriate to establish the position to be taken on the Union’s behalf in the meetings of the annual Conference of the Parties to the Bering Sea Convention for the period 2024-2028, as the Bering Sea Convention conservation and enforcement measures will be binding on the Union and capable of decisively influencing the content of Union law, namely, Council Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 23 ; Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 24 ; and Regulation (EU) 2017/2403 of the European Parliament and of the Council 25 . 

(10)Under current practice, the Commission, as the external representative of the Union with regard to the exclusive Union competence in fisheries, represents the Republic of Poland and the Union at the annual Conference of the Parties of the Bering Sea Convention.

(11)Currently, the position to be taken on the Union’s behalf in the meetings of the annual Conference of the Parties to the Bering Sea Convention is established by Council Decision (EU) 2019/866 26 . It is appropriate to repeal that Decision and establish a new Decision for the period 2024-2028.

(12)In view of the evolving nature of fishery resources in the Bering Sea Convention Area and the consequent need for the Union’s position to take account of new developments, including new scientific and other relevant information presented before or during the meetings of the annual Conference of the Parties, procedures should be established for the year-to-year specification of the Union’s position for the period 2024-2028. Those positions should be in line with the principle of sincere cooperation among the Union institutions enshrined in Article 13(2) of the Treaty on the European Union.